Wrongful Death

January 22, 2015

Jury Awards $7.7M Mesothelioma Verdict to School Bus Driver’s Widow

The widow of a man who was exposed to asbestos while working as a school bus driver for nearly four decades has been awarded a $7.7 million mesothelioma verdict. The driver, Lewis Nash, became exposed to the fibrous materials during the time he spent in the bus garage where vehicle maintenance was performed. The asbestos came from the clutches, brakes, and gaskets of the buses. Nash died from mesothelioma at the age of 81 in 2012.

The jury found Navistar, now called International Harvester, liable for Nash developing this serious form of cancer. The company manufactured the school buses.

Because it can take years for symptoms of mesothelioma to surface, there can be a very long latency period for the person affected. This is why Nash wasn’t diagnosed until almost twenty years after he retired.

January 9, 2015

Tougher OSHA Reporting Rules for On-the-Job Injuries Are Now in Place

by Altman & Altman

Under Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rules, private-sector employers must fulfill tougher reporting requirements for injuries on the job. Now, employers have to report all work-related deaths within eight hours and give notification of any eye losses, amputations, and inpatient hospitalizations within 24 hours of discovery.

The new requirements went into effect on January 1. Employers can report an incident either by calling the closest OSHA area office, contacting the OSHA hotline, or submitting a report online.

Previous to that, employees had to notify the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration of all workplace deaths or when at least three workers injured in the same incident were hospitalized.

December 12, 2014

Fall River Construction Worker Dies While Working On Natural Gas Lines in Road Project

by Altman & Altman

A Fall River worker was recently killed when he was struck by a piece of construction equipment in the head. The “fusing machine” swung toward 45-year-old Paulo Matos, fatally injuring him after workers lost control of the device. At the time, the construction worker was working on natural gas lines in a road project.

Matos worked for AGI Construction, a contracting company. The state’s Department of Transportation and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the work accident.

Please contact our Massachusetts worker’s compensation lawyers today if you or your loved one were seriously injured in an accident on the job. You typically cannot sue your employer but you should be entitled to work injury benefits. Also, other parties who were involved in the job but are not your employer could potentially be held liable if their negligence contributed to the construction accident injury or death.

September 28, 2014

MA Electrical Company Cited By U.S. Department of Labor After Deaths of 2 Workers

by Altman & Altman

Massachusetts Bay Electrical Corporation was cited by the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety Health Administration (OSHA) last week, following the deaths of two of workers in April.

According to reports by OSHA officials, the two electrical workers had been working in Bourne, MA, from a raised personnel platform attached to an Elliot 40142 truck-mounted crane. Then men, who were performing maintenance work on power lines along the mainland side of the Cape Cod Canal, fell more than 150 feet when the crane suddenly overturned. Both men tragically sustained fatal injuries.

Brenda Gordon, OSHA’s area director for Boston and southeastern Massachusetts said that the accident could have been prevented had the employer supplied the men with adequate training that would have ultimately allowed the men to conduct their work safely.

Following a months-long investigation, OSHA officials found that the employees were not properly trained or evaluated on how to use the Elliott 40142 truck-mounted crane. The report also found that supervisors at the job site did not follow procedures for setting up and operating the crane in accordance with the crane’s safety manual, even though the manual was in the crane and at the job site. “They also did not conduct proper pre-lift planning and other required tests to ensure that the lift could be done safely.”
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June 12, 2014

New Bedford Shellfish Processing Plant Fined after Worker’s Death

by Altman & Altman

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined New Bedford shellfish processing plant Sea Watch International as well as the temporary employment agency which supplied the plant’s workers, a total of $44,000 in safety violations following the death of an employee earlier this year.

The worker, Victor Gerena, 35, was an 18-year veteran of Sea Watch who had become entangled in a rotary turbine engine while cleaning jammed clams from a shucking machine, the Boston Globe reported. According to OSHA officials, the machine’s power had not been turned off-ultimately causing Gerena to become stuck in the machine. Such preventative measures as the “lock out tag out” should have been taken by Gerena and officials from OSHA alleged that the company had failed to properly train the man of this safety procedure.

In total, the Maryland-based company was issued 11 violations by OSHA, including eight serious violations for workplace safety standards, equaling $35,410 in fines. $9,000 in fines were also issued to Rhode Island temp agency Workforce Unlimited, covering five violations-three of which were deemed serious by OSHA.

This is not the only time Sea Watch International, a major supplier of canned clams for 35 years, has been under scrutiny by OSHA. In 2011, the plant was inspected by officials who had discovered several serious safety violations, including inadequate emergency training for employees dealing with hazardous waste and insufficient respiratory protection for some workers. According to the Boston Globe, OSHA reported no “lock out tag out” violations were made at the time. Because of those violations in 2011, the company paid $4,675 in fines and ultimately mitigated the issues. A follow-up inspection in April 2012 found the company was in full compliance with OSHA standards.

Sadly, this is only another example of how inadequate training and non-compliance with safety standards in the workplace can lead to workers being injured or killed on the job. Recently, we reported that the Tribe hummus plant in Taunton, MA, was cited following the 2011 death of Daniel Collazo who like Gerena, was caught in a machinery for not using the “lock out tag out” safety procedure. Tribe was fined $500,000 by OSHA. According to the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health, Gerena’s death marks the twenty-second worker death caused by machinery in Massachusetts since 2000. The majority of these deaths were the direct result of inadequate machine guards and lack of other federally mandated safety measures, according to the coalition and the Boston Globe.
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May 29, 2014

OSHA Cited MA Hummus Factory for “Willfully Ignoring” Safety Standards in Worker’s Death; Questions Raised on Severity of Fines

by Altman & Altman

Following the horrific death of a factory employee at the Taunton hummus factory, Tribe Mediterranean Food, OSHA officials and factory administrators are coming under public scrutiny.

Daniel Collazo, 28, was killed in December 2011 when he became caught in the rotating screws that blend the hummus. Collazo attempted to free himself from the slowly-winding 9-inch blades, but his arms and part of his head became crushed in the process. In a desperate attempt to save the man, Collazo’s co-workers cut the machine’s power and tried to untangle Collazo from the machine. Tragically though, Collazo died in an ambulance en route to an area hospital.

Reflecting on the incident, both OSHA and public officials are saying that had the plant followed a standard set of safety procedures, specifically the safety practice “lock out/tag out,” which requires employees to be trained to cut power to machinery prior to cleaning, the entire incident and Collazo’s death could have been prevented. In fact, two years before Collazo’s death, the company had been fined by OSHA for failing to follow the safety procedure at another of its New England food processing plants. Company records indicated that Tribe’s own consultant had made note warning other administrators that failing to train workers the procedure created “an extreme safety risk” with “the probability that a fatality could occur is likely within a year’s timeframe,” according to the Boston Globe.

Following Collazo’s death, Tribe was issued a $540,000 fine by OSHA-one of the largest fines in New England in nearly a decade according to the Globe. Tribe was also issued 18 violations-imposing the most serious level of penalties because the company had “willfully ignored” three industry safety standards, according to the records. Those standards included “lock out/tag out,” which requires employers to adopt procedures and conduct training to ensure that employees power down major machinery during cleaning and maintenance.

OSHA’s report concluded that Tribe “was aware of deficiencies with its lock out/tag out program for almost two years and made a conscious decision not to abate those deficiencies” because fixing those issues was too expensive. Managers of Tribe’s owner, Tivall, and its Israeli parent, OSEM, toured the Taunton plant several times a year to prioritize projects, including safety measures, according to OSHA reports.
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April 11, 2014

Deceased Worker’s Family Awarded $39 Million after Company Failed to Follow Safety Plans

by Altman & Altman

A Cleveland, Ohio jury has awarded a $39 million verdict against a paving company that sacrificed worker safety to save a few dollars, resulting in the death of a member of the construction crew. The Shelly Company of Thornville, Ohio was found to be negligent and at fault for the death of Randy Roginski, who leaves behind a wife and three children.

The fatal accident occurred on July 27, 2010. Randy Roginski, a 41-year-old Ohio native, was working as a paving inspector on an active construction site for Solar Testing Labs, Inc. According to the National Trial Lawyers, “Roginski [who was wearing reflective clothing] was standing on the berm on the right side of the highway when he was struck by a passing motorist.” When first responders arrived, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The speed limit on that heavily traveled area of highway is 65 miles per hour. Drivers were expected to slow down to approximately 25 miles per hour when travelling past the active construction zone, which proved to be extremely difficult at the time of the accident-around midnight. According to Christian Patno, one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, “the Shelly Company was supposed to have hired at least two highway patrol officers to provide protection that night, with one cruiser stationed at the start of the construction zone, and another four miles into the zone. But only one patrolman was working that night, stationed about halfway into the zone.”
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February 20, 2014

OSHA Focuses on Protecting Cell Tower Employees after Increase in Worksite Fatalities

by Altman & Altman

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration is collaborating with the National Association of Tower Erectors and other industry stakeholders to ensure that communication tower employers understand their responsibility to protect workers in high-hazard work environments.

This comes in response to a series of tragic fatalities last month in Texas and West Virginia involving several cell tower works who had fallen during routine working operations at their cell tower stations.

“Tower worker deaths cannot be the price we pay for increased wireless communication,” said Dr. David Michaels, assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health. “Employers and cell tower owners and operators must do everything possible to stop these senseless, preventable tragedies.”

The agency has expressed concern over the alarming increase in preventable injuries and worker fatalities at communication tower jobsites. Last year, there were 13 fatalities that occurred in this industry-more than in the two previous years combined. The majority of these fatalities were the result of serious falls. The trend appears to be continuing with the four worker deaths occurring in the first five weeks of 2014. OSHA has now focused its attention on tower safety, and last week, sent out a letter to communication tower employers urging compliance and strict adherence to safety standards and common sense practices.

By law, OSHA requires employers to provide adequate fall protection equipment, train employees how to use the safety equipment and ensure that they use it properly and consistently. In addition to falls, tower workers have also been injured or killed by falling objects, the structural collapse of towers and equipment failures. For example, OSHA issued citations in December 2013 to Custom Tower LLC of Scott, LA for one willful violation following the death of a worker who fell approximately 125 feet.
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January 2, 2014

Logan Airport Employee Fatally Injured While Working on Tarmac

by Altman & Altman

A Logan airport suffered a fatal injury at a cargo terminal on Monday evening.

The man was struck by a support vehicle, driven by a fellow coworker. The vehicle had been equipped for flight maintenance and was traveling in reverse when the victim was struck.

According to a spokesperson for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, the driver of the vehicle showed no signs of impairment while being questioned after the accident. State and airport officials are still investigating the accident.

For family members of those who have been killed on the job, there is undoubtedly no amount of monetary compensation that can recompense their loss of life. Family members including spouses and children may file a wrongful death and/or workers’ compensation claim to receive financial relief. Immediate family members may be entitled to recover up to 60% of the deceased worker’s average weekly wage as well as other benefits.
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December 16, 2013

U.S. Postal Service Cited by OSHA After July Heat-Related Death of Carrier

by Altman & Altman

The United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited the United States Postal Service following an investigation to the heat-related death of a veteran postal worker last July.

James Baldassarre of Haverhill collapsed while delivering mail on his route through Medford on July 5. He had spent nearly five hours in 94-degree heat carrying a bag weighing 35 pounds. He died the following day as the result of a heat stroke.

The day that he collapsed, the National Weather Service had issued a heat advisory for the area that Baldassarre was working in.

After an internal investigation, OSHA determined that the Postal Service exposed workers to the recognized hazard of working in excessive heat and had failed to implement a stress management program to help mail carriers identify, prevent, and report symptoms of heat-related illness.

While the U.S. Postal Service issued a statement sending condolences to Baldassarre’s family members and friends, OSHA cited the company with a proposed fine of $7,000, the maximum fine that can be assessed for a serious violation. Since the death of the postal worker, the Postal Service reported it had developed and implemented a heat stress program, including the use of posters, stand-up talks for employees and supervisors, videos, multimedia slides, messages and handheld scanners, employee newsletter articles, and heat-stress guidance for all employees of the Postal Service.
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